Gun Review: ATI Omni Hybrid Polymer AR-15

With President Obama’s election a few years back and the Great Assault Weapon Scare of 2012, there was a ton of demand for AR-15 rifles. The shortage eventually got to the point where it started making economic sense for companies to make plastic receivers instead of taking all that time to mill out an aluminum forging. But with the use of plastic instead of aluminum, you lose some of the rigidity and strength that made the firearm usable. Enter the hybrid lower receiver, where a small block of metal is molded into the receiver itself to strengthen it. Some companies have done this well. Unfortunately, ATI is not one of them . . .

The concept behind the “hybrid” design is to strengthen the weakest part of the AR’s receiver: the rear, where the buffer tube screws into place. This one little section is subject to the highest strain in the entire gun, since this small flap of material needs to keep everything in line as the bolt carrier group is slammed into the buffer and reciprocates as the action cycles.

And speaking of small parts, the threads that hold the buffer tube in place can easily get stripped with enough use. As Cody Wilson found out when he was building his 3D-printed lower receivers, this one area is the easiest to crack or damage if you’re using sub-standard materials. So rather than relying only on the plastic to keep everything together, ATI slipped a small block of metal into that area to reinforce the pillar.

Emphasis on “small.”

Not too long ago we reviewed another polymer hybrid AR-15, one from MEAN Arms. Their aluminum block had two pins holding it in place and keeping it from rotating (the takedown pin and the safety selector) and was chunky enough to beat someone to death with. ATI’s metal insert has only one pin to keep it from flexing, and the attachment point for the receiver extension isn’t even as hefty as an original AR-15’s. The effect is pretty obvious.

Just looking at it, the fit and finish on the rifle is pretty hit-and-miss. The upper and lower receiver halves don’t match up even in the slightest, and the area where the metal insert is molded into the gun has errant bits of plastic in it. Elsewhere on the gun you can tell that it’s meant for “budget conscious” individuals — all of the parts are from either bottom shelf or at least of mediocre design. The forend is a non-free floating quad rail, which looks and feels bulky. The stock and grip are typical “budget” M4-style parts. And the trigger has no break, it just rolls very heavily straight to the sear with no warning.

But there are some things I like about the receiver design, too.

The trigger guard is molded into the rest of the gun, and flared nicely to allow even the chubbiest of sausage-like digits to get at the bangswitch. The magazine well is flared just enough to be helpful, but not enough to be annoying. And the overall appearance of the lower receiver is a nice design, something different from the typical AR-15 to be sure.

Out on the range, though, things went bad.

Straight out of the box, the gun didn’t work right. Every rifle I’ve tested, from the PWS Mk114 right down to the JR Carbine, can run for at least a few magazines without additional lubrication. ATI’s Omni, on the other hand, failed to cycle a single round. The gun would fire, but the bolt carrier would never get far enough back to load a new cartridge. Even with a “normal” amount of lubrication — the same level I give all my other “known good” guns — the rifle wouldn’t cycle. It was only when the rifle was absolutely dripping wet with lube to the point that it was leaking around the charging handle and down my hand that it would cycle somewhat reliably.

Unfortunately while we have a GoPro video camera, the slow motion feature wasn’t sufficient to pick up on the reason why the gun needs so much lube, but I have a theory. The Omni’s metal insert seems designed simply to reinforce the threads in the buffer tube and not much more. There’s still quite a bit of plastic used as structural components in that area of the gun, and plastic has a tendency to stretch and deform under pressure.

I get the feeling that as the gun is firing, the recoil impulse is causing the gun to buckle upwards at the buffer tube pillar, pinching the bolt carrier as it passes from the upper receiver into the buffer tube. This pinching adds friction, which slows the bolt carrier and keeps it from cycling properly. The fact that adding lube to the mix fixes the issue seems to confirm my suspicions, and the massive build-up of lube in that area of the gun helps too.

Something that The Firearm Blog reported and I can confirm is that the gun also doesn’t want to lock back after the last round is fired from a magazine. The bolt catch on the gun tends to rotate out of position and slip behind the follower instead of being raised by it, possibly caused by the mag well being out of spec. Magazines tended to wiggle in the ATI Omni more than other firearms, so while they seated firmly and properly and were held in place well, they moved back and forth quite a bit under recoil.

On the range, the best the gun can muster (even using match grade 55gr rounds from Hornady) is about 3.5 MoA. The reason for the inaccuracy is some combination of the terrible trigger, a “meh” barrel, and a non-free-floating rail. Take your pick, really.

The ATI Omni is a budget rifle designed for penny-pinching shooters, but it fails to impress in almost every regard. It doesn’t function, it feels crappy, and it shoots at best “minute of pie plate.” For my money, I’d suggest that you avoid this gun and go with something like the S&W M&P15 Sport. That’s the $650-ish AR-15 our man Ben Shotzberger gave a five star rating back in the day. It’s still the one to beat at the lower end of the cost spectrum in my book. If you have a few more dollars, the Mossberg MMR is about $700 on the street and has all of the same features as this model of the ATI Omni — rail included. Or, if you really want a hybrid AR-15, go for the MEAN Arms rifle.

Ratings (Out of Five Stars):
All ratings are relative compared to the other weapons in the gun’s category. Overall rating is not mathematically derived from the previous component ratings and encompasses all aspects of the firearm including those not discussed.

Accuracy: *It hit the target. That’s about the best thing I can say about the accuracy.

Ergonomics: *
The handguards are chunky and uncomfortable, the stock is very 1990’s, and the charging handle is far too small for the amount of force you need to crack the action open.

114 Responses to Gun Review: ATI Omni Hybrid Polymer AR-15

If they are going to go through the trouble of machining an injection mold.
I would rather see them make one out of zamak than nylon.

You can use the same mold, you could remove several machining steps by molding the the fire control pocket, mag-well, buffer threads even the mag release and bolt catch notch could be molded.
Just detent and takedown holes would need to be machined.

This. I’ve never felt either of my aluminum ARs were heavy; it’s a light gun, even well-accessorized. Can’t say I trust a plastic AR for that matter either. I like ATI’s accessories, esp. their pistol grips, but this gun is junk. And for that matter, would it have killed them to include one of their recoil-compensating pistol grips instead of that crappy standard one?

Still shooting with a steel-frame and I wasn’t alive for the “polymer vs steel” debate. Simply because if I have a catastrophic failure the CZ is going to blow out the mag and the slide will fall of. While a plastic gat will have shrapnel flying in my face. I kinda like my face.

Doesn’t mean that I won’t use a plastic gat if that is all I have/is offered at the range.

Apples and Oranges, Samurai. I have plenty of polymer framed pistols. Now if they started making the slides out of polymer, I’d get a little worried ….just as with polymer receivers on an AR. I just don’t really see the value proposition. A couple ounces on an already light rifle isn’t worth the trade off to me in durability.
But to each his own of course.
**bow**

Well! Been in the military service for 20 yrs I know the AR platform and very happy with it…
I just got a Omni hybrid pistol upper and lower in plastic, I’m planning to test it this Friday, I will write about it.

My ATI AR works just fine I thank its good gun I see all these people talkin about how bad this gun is iv talk people that has same at I do and they say its been good gun for them shoots good and hit’s what I need it to hit

This review only shows that the gun industry’s attempt to make #ghostguns is very far away from success, as the metal detectors that we can’t have at our schools would easily detect the block of metal in the shoulder thing that goes up.

Unfortunately, the terrible reality is that #ghostguns exist today and are routinely used to bypass metal detectors. This is why we #DemandAction to make these dangerous weapons double secret ultra illegal.

…and it’s just too bad that metal detectors can’t pick up the brass from the bullet cartridges…oh…wait…yes they can…

…glad to see we have a well rounded and knowledgeable person coming at us in this gun debate, what with terms like “the shoulder thing that goes up”…how could we ever argue their common sense logic here…

Everytime, like their leftist/postmodernist brethren, have their own reality, made out of whole cloth.. inside their heads, not “out there”! Facts, to them, are just “opinions”, and Western culture is repressive, racist, myosgenist..

FLAME DELETED This was clearly not a “sarcastic” remark from “Everytown”. It was a statement with all that social media # BS (how organizations control the minds of millions of sheep) from a pro gun control internet troll, probably paid to troll around gun sites and inflict their anti gun talking points to change the minds of law abiding gun owners. “Common sense gun reform” by the way is a slippery slope that will surely lead to guns being confiscated everywhere to “keep us safe”. Wake up!

This and other polymer-lower AR’s are NOT an attempt to make a “ghostgun”, as you so snappily call them. You really should actually attempt to learn something about what you’re trying to pontificate about, here, as you’ve made a complete fool out of yourself otherwise. If you’d taken the time to really know something about these sporting arms, you’d have realized that the upper receiver, barrel, bolt carrier assembly and other parts are ALL metal – much more metal than would be contained in the lower receiver, even if it were all metal. And, this particular rifle’s lower is reinforced with metal, for added strength at strategic spots. The polymer is about shaving weight, even if only slightly, as well as possible (“possible” being operative word) increased economy of manufacture. The “shoulder thing” (I assume you’re idiotically trying to reference the stock) is mostly polymer, with a metal buffer spring tube contained therein… with, of course, a metal spring within it.
“Ghostgun” my arse, you silly little twit. You’ve ruined your position, even if it DID have any merit, prior, with your silly, kneejerk need to go chomping at the bit about something you’ll never be “up” on, anyway. Oh, and take your leftist/progressive “Everytown” anti-gun, anti-any-kind-of-defense, pro-jihadist, anti-Christian quisling group, and BLOW.
(Decent folk are tired of your kind’s illiterate, dishonest rhetoric, as well as your petty, tyrannical “our way or the highway” attitude. The only defense against a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun… idiot.)

Nick, do you have a set of feeler gauges? I’m wondering if the buffer tower is flexing enough to cause the buffer tube axis to no longer be parallel to the BCG axis (similar to your theory, but with the axes no longer being parallel rather than remaining parallel but increasing their distance apart).

The downward flex of the buffer tube is likely what caused the cycling issues I had when testing my first 3D printed lower (http://haveblue.org/?p=1349), but FEA indicated that the flex should be reduced to roughly 25% of what I was seeing if made from Nylon (and reduced even further when using a glass fiber filler, as ATI is almost assuredly doing).

As an aside, Cody’s initial failed lower test was not due to sub-standard materials at all. He used the same AR lower file that I did, but used a different process (photopolymer run on an Object machine). The material had a higher flexural modulus (so his did not have the same cycling issues that my FDM printed version exhibited), but lower impact strength. The much higher resolution of the Objet print also wound up being a liability, as I hadn’t filleted thread roots in the STL file, meaning that Cody’s print had nice sharp stress risers just begging to provide crack propagation. Sure enough, shot 7 did it in, but this was in no way an indication of a sub-standard material – simply an indication of a polymer with different material properties.

My friend bought a new in box omni(not hybrid) and it is an awful gun, it jammed up on the second magazine. Took a look at it, and the feed ramps were poking out 1-2 mm, causing it to literally push the bullet into the casing. To their credit, they did pay for the return, he gets it back soon, we’ll see how that goes.

I bought two ATI polymer lowers and built them using a CMMG lpk. They have both functioned flawlessly and have had no magazine issues. I’ve only put a few mags through them but I do not see any issues with them so far. I want to beat on these things more before I would trust my life to one. For range toys they seem fines.

Having said that, the pictures of this new lower look terrible. They don’t look near as nice as the two I have.

The ATI you speak of is the Advanced Technology international this review is about ATI american tactical imports 2 different companys, ati in this review does not make stocks, make sure you know your company your talking about before throwing out misinformation.

I don’t know anything about polymers or aluminum for that matter. And I wasn’t involved with this industry when plastic pistols like Glock started showing up and taking over. However, if I were to guess, this is pretty much what I would expect the reactions to be. I suspect in 5 years there will be a lot of polymer lowers available. It’s what engineers do. They engineer stuff. Thank goodness they do, because I can’t engineer crap.

Hello I read this review BEFORE and again AFTER I purchased the omni hybrid and the combo no less. One barrel 5.56 and one barrel 22LR . And honestly I have too disagree. Shoots and feels great with both barrels. I LIKE IT.

A friend purchased a new omni hybrid, he has fired over 500 rounds thru it and hasn’t had issue one. Actually thinking of purchasing two of them, I can get them for $429 plus tax each. from what I have seen out of his, appears to be a decent plinking or range AR.

Buddy picked one up. Zeroed on the 50 yard line. Put 5 in the bullseye 1.5″ group. Went to the 100 yard line and after 50 rounds determined the rifle is about as inconsistent as you can get. All over the 8″ target. The last mag put 2 on the bull and then it was just all over the place. Also the magazine was loose and had two misfeeds.

I told him to spend the $1000 on a Stag or other more reputable rifle. I have shot a Stag Model 1 without fail since 2008. For the price it has been a great rifle.

I happen to have one,& have had no problems what so ever. And for one there not assult rifles. And as for the person suggesting s&w sport, the ati has way more to offer. Such as fluted 1&7 twist barrel, forward assist,& dust cover. As far as your shot group goes it looks like operator failure. As far as it having a polymer lower, get with the times. Sorry but things change.African americans can ride in the front of the bus,&women can vote,& ar with polymer lowers work.

Three years have passed, and polymer lowers still don’t work (CavArms integral-stock units aside, and I believe those were discontinued). They were a crappy solution to churning out rifles for $30 less per copy. Pretty much an engineering failure no matter how you look at it.

I recently bought one of these and mounted a scope on it. Gave it 3 drops of oil and sighted it in. Took 5 rounds to sight it in. I then shot 200 rounds thru it flawlessly. Shot groups weren’t perfect but were pretty good, at least par for an ar. Don’t know if there is that big a difference between all the weapons on this review or people just don’t like the plastic but mine shoots great.

Very biased reviews. Just because the company makes lets say 500,00 guns, doesn’t mean its a crap gun if 100 of them have flaws. You think Bushmaster, Smith and Wesson, and etc. don’t have these problems?

I bought one of these and had feed problems with the Slide Fire stock I installed on it. Returned to the factory and they said the feed ramp needed filing down a good bit and they test fired it just fine and returned to me. I went to the range with it and had feed problems again, I was an idiot and bought some of that Wolf shit steel ammo from Russia trying to save a few bucks. So after consulting with a friend who is a weapons tech in the US Air Force. I bought some Lake City brass ammo, installed a 5 ounce buffer (the heavier buffer makes for better recoil with the Slide Fire) Put a Surefire 60 round mag in and went to town emptying the mag in about 5-6 seconds! That works out to approx 700 rounds a minute. I’ll take that for a $500 hybrid. With a little tweaking the ATI hybrid is a nice rifle for the $$ conscious buyer. Just sayin’

I would like to put my two cents in I bought one of these omni ar pistol after the third rd threw my brand new ar it broke at the buffer tube were it screws on to the gun I wish I could up load pictures bu t I don’t no how I would like to say do not buy this gun I still have it and I haven’t heard from them I have called even sent them emails no word from them this gun is pure fucking junk

Nonsense and bullshit! When you morons buy shitty amo like the idiot that bought the foreign wolf crap, your going to get shitty results! I own (2) Colts, a Bushmaster and an Omni…..can’t tell which one shoots better! The Omni has had 2100 or so rounds through it! Going to buy two more….freakin cry babies…quit your pussy bitching and read the owners manual!

Just purchased one of the Omni Hybrid lowers. I started out with the desire for an economy build, but I ended up putting more money into the build than initially planned. The lower went together very well, a bit easier than traditional aluminum lowers. I purchased an M4 flat-top upper from Palmetto. They had a great cold-hammer forged and chrome lined FN barrel upper on sale. I purchased the bolt carrier group from DSG, again on sale. I ended up buying an inexpensive flip-up UTG sight to complete the initial build. The upper and lower fit tightly and look good. I tested it last weekend at the range and put roughly 200 rounds through it, including 55 Grain Federal brass, 55 grain Tula and Wolf and some 62 grain ZQI brass. The rifle ran like a clock, didn’t miss a beat, no FTF or FTE. This while using several types of mags (Magpul, Hexmags, and Tapco). Time will tell about the overall strength of the Omni Hybrid lower, but it appears to be well made and beefy where it needs to be. So far, it appears to be $55 well spent.

Waa waa waa waa waa…..I must be the luckiest customer in the U.S. of A. Bought an Omni last year in September took it to the ranch and put close to 900 without a flaw…not a single one! We now own (4) and they too are remarkable pipes. Again , I must be the luckiest customer in the U.S.!
Are you sure that you are using 5.56/.223? You see,….12 gauge shotgun shells don’t work on the Omni! Sorry….couldn’t help myself on this one….

Hey br….your a tough guy on this site…I’d like to meet you in person and see what you really are. Yes, I do have a lot of class so I’ll leave this as it is….maybe well meet some day and then you’ll never forget who I am…..later bitch!

I just fire 400 rounds (Federal XM855 62 grains and Winchester 55grains), with my new Omni Hybrid Pistol MXP556 Polymer upper and lower, out of the box with no malfunctions at all. As a good Marksman I check that the gas rings where in triangular position prior to use it (I had to move them a bit, that’s normal they move from use to use). The pistol was a little dirty, normal because all good manufacturers fire their weapons in order to check if its good or not. I used no lube at all, as per now I’m very happy with it, the upper and lower fit tight no movement, no rattle. The buffer tube has no foam padding so I will buy one. It lock to the rear as it should no problems with that. The forward assist gave me some trouble it stay at the forward and I had to pull it back, thing that I just push it forward to check if it came back to the regular position.

I recently bought a Omni Hybrid 5.56 With a Banner 3-9 scope. Shade less than $600. Took it to the range shot it in using 5.56 55 gr Winchester soft pt . Using sand bags came up with 5 shot group at 3/4″ center to center. Then pot 5 rounds of Winchester 55 gr full metal jacket and ended up with a 1″ group. I was very surprised at the performance. Can’t wait to soot it more.

Ok Nick I have to call you out on this one, first of all your faulting the lower for flexing on a poly gun with bone stock mil spec upper for the failures? On the MEAN review you said the elasticity added strength etc, but not for the ATI? Did you mention the ATI’s are a budget friendly starter AR? a sub 500 dollar AR? You also fault the ATI for a lower that doesnt fit a mil spec upper well but for the MEAN its ok because you assume they are going to make a mated upper later? When Omni had already released they were testing poly uppers to fit there poly lowers? You mention the single pin of the ATI and the double pin of the MEAN and the loose mag well of the ATI and that is about the only thing that was accurate, did you try that omni upper on any other lowers to see if it was a gas problem or bolt issue? I have built several of the new omni’s and yes they are not a $1200 rifle but i have made budget versions for gifts using PSA parts that run perfect and shoot 1 MOA for $380 and high end builds using the upper and lower hybrids for under 700 with all high end parts to get a 4lb carbine that shoots 1/2 MOA or a dedicated 22lr that shoots .6 at 50yds I really think you should test one of these again. im on build 6 with them and just ordered 5 more that will be here on the 3rd, I want to see you get one put an hour of work into it as anyman would do with his rifle wanting the most out of it, and adjust barrel torque maybe throw in some jp trigger springs and and nothing really else then that and give it a fair shakedown.

I bought one of these ATI Omni Hybrids on sale for $475 shipped. I don’t have any of the problems the reviewer described. It didn’t need anything more than standard cleaning and lube, I have only 5 FTF in over 1000 rounds. I get consistent 3″ groups at 300 Yards. The trigger was gritty, I will give it that but so are most stock triggers. Last week I just changed to an ALG ACT trigger and 4.5 lb springs and added a 15″ free float handguard. I have zero complaints now as this rifle has a clean crisp break and pull, consistent on target and the free float made a big difference. Still a great entry level rifle for under $500

I purchased 3 last year for my sons….I own a colt and an s&w myself. Not one problem with either except my colt fte….perhaps you should go out and fire one with at least 500 rounds…..Obama has nothing to do with this so what’s your point?

I just bought a gen3 a couple of weeks ago. I’ve taken it to the range one time so far. Nothing to report other then a great gun! No jams no miss fires. I was using 55grn. .223 federal fmjs. The only problem I’ve had is the charging handle sticks a little, but I think that will cure it’s self over time. Also the mag catch would get caught on the lower sometimes when you’d depress it to insert a new one. I fixed this by filling the lower a little and prob solved. Good thing it’s plastic. I couldn’t get my acog dialed but I was hitting paper at 100yrds.

Great review. ….I too had very good results and no problems at all! Purchased one for my son and he also had very good results…..his friends dad was so impressed, he ordered one for his son…..good price, very good results. …..
By the way, I also own a Colt and an S/W…..just saying!

I have two omni AR15’s. The first was bought as an entire rifle and the second built on an omni lower, 9mm 5″ upper.

The first Omni was purchased around 3 years ago. It was assembled by “Head Down LLC” local to me in west Atlanta area, built on the Omni Gen2 lower. Let me add that I currently own seven AR15’s of various calibers/values/set-ups. My standard omni gen2 16″ barreled 1:7NATO with no internal upgrades, just a cheap quad still using the orginal gas-block/delta set-up and a different grip, bipod and a Bushnell 4.5-18x drop zone scope on P-series mount, this is my MOST used rifle, over 7000 rounds of my standard highpower load of a 75gr HRN over 22.7gr of 4064. I HAVE NEVER EVEN DISASSEMBLED THIA RIFLE ONCE!!!! Has been insane reliable, one malfunction only and that was because I was shooting steel-case and the brittle case rim broke off leaving the case in the chamber. That’s it folks, 7000 rounds or more, never any repairs, barrel still going strong and 100% reliable with brass case ammo, and I never over lube a rifle. Best gun I have owned. I have competed with this rifle in many events and has best case accuracy of 1.17MOA, not mind blowing, buy acceptable especially since I paid 505$ out the door. What a terrible write up about one of my best rifles on terms of value and reliablity.

I am sorry, I am at work and didn’t get to finish me reply. So to continue from above. I am a paramedic and I bought this rifle during the peak of crazinesss where a 600$ AR would go for 1000&+. These rifles were priced at 600$, fair for the market at the time. Well, my public service discount marked it down to 480$ or close to and OTD for 505$ IIRC, since the deal was good and everyone wanted an AR or AK at the time, four other employees at my office bought the same exact rifle after I told them about mine. So that’s a sample of five rifles. One of the rifles had the dust cover fall off, the LGS fixed for free immediately and my rifle and my partner’s rifle had no feed ramps on the receiver, only the barrel. I quickly remedied with a dremel and polished the ramps well. That was a signifigant issue I will admit. Not sure if the fault of ATI or the company assembling, not sure who provided the receivers. But for a 500$ AR15 at that moment in history I wasn’t complaining. Regardless of those little hiccups, and that very well could have been the issue of the author, all five of our Omni AR’s get shot regularly with my coworkers. None of them shoot the amount or as seriously as I do, but none of the five rifles are plagued with inaccuracy, needed crazy amounts of lubricants, broken parts, wobbly mags(all using pmags and they are slightly tighter than I would like at first) and noone has had a critical failure or any parts bteakage. My 5″ 9×19 on Omni lower has been around for two years and runs like a champ, except the promag magwell block dislikes hollowpoints, but nothing to do with the omni. So, do your research, but don’t use this article as an indicator of the norm for an Omni, I recommend them to people all the time wanting a “accurate enough” very budget minded AR that is long term reliable. I don’t claim to be a pro, but I am a serious shooter/reloaded and have built dozens of rifles across different platforms and the omni lower has proven reliable as any other I have used. The poly lower that gave me fits was a tennesee arms that had a poor fit and very soft polymer.

The omni isn’t my first Ar, but definitely my cheapest. I bought it from cdnnsports.com for $430 with 2 free mags. I think I’m all in for around $525 with shipping and ffl fees. ive been to the range once and fired around 350 rounds threw it! All I’m the paint at 100 yards! No jams or misfires!! I’m impressed, and for the price can’t be beat. Only one problem, the mag release sticks. When I push it in it stays in and every once in a while I have to jimmy it out. I’ve heard that ATI’s customer service is amazing. I’ve emailed them and they are going to fix it. Prompt response and a eagerness to guarantee they have a great product on the market. I’m very pleased.

Easy fix with the mag release. Just tighten it up a little. Mine did the same thing. Push a punch in the release and twist the other side clockwise a couple turns, problem fixed.

The Omni upper is flawless for me. No jams just a few double feeds but changed the mag and it works fine. But the Omni upper isn’t the main concern. It’s the plastic lower and how long it’ll hold up. I’ve been out a total of 5-6 time and each time I’ve broke it down to clean. The pins are the biggest issue with me. The back pin seems to want to shoot out of the socket every time I try to break it down. I think it has a few more tries and it’ll work its way out.

All in all great upper! The metal or zink molded plastic lower is not up to extensive use and will have to replace it soon.

I’ve had three all of them amazing. My newest had issues ejecting the spent case but that was only because the gas block slid forward because it was not tightened down. I slid it back to where it was supposed to be and it works like a champ. Overall i”m very happy with the ATI OMNI.

I purchased 2 last year and I can’t believe how well they perform. I also have a Colt, a s&w and a bushmaster. Guess you can say I’m a gun nut. So Andy, I 100% agree with you…..just shoot it more and it will perform a bit better! Hell, at that price, I just might get another one. ….later…..

I picked one up, got it home started checking it out, safety switch worked but seemed loose in the frame,
an empty magazine could be pulled out without pushing the release. a full mag bolt closed it would fall out, bolt open full mag, still would fall out but took more wiggle. I took it back to the store, they said it was bad(no kidding), switched it with another rifle, this one seems to be much much better, seems to work just fine.

Thanks for the info but I would like to say this I have the Omni AR-15 and I have shoot it 300 rounds so far and everything you put in this site did not happen with this gun at all so far I’ve used 5.56 and .223 and not have even one problem with this gun. And to be honest $539.00 it has worked very well and 100 yards it’s hitting the bullseye with out a problem and I have shoot it 250 yards and it’s still good.

I have recently purchased a omni hybrid 5.56. It has functioned flawlessly with more than 500 rounds down range. I guess call me lucky but I would give this firearm a five star rating. To the skeptics out there I have worked on and been around the ar platform for yea. Great gun in my mind.rs now

I have one and I actually like it. I can see the point that it should Have been better reinforced. After doing my own review and also owning the S&W MP AR I respectful disagree. I have had no problems getting it to recycle. No problems with accuracy. I carried a Colt M4 around everyday for years and I wish it had felt like the OMNI hybrid! I like the lower so much I’m getting one to drop a CMC 4.5 flat trigger in it with a CMMG custom upper! Can’t Wait…

Every one has a right to their opinion but I must disagree with this article. This thing is light weight but solid and shoots like a dream. For the price range it fits in ($550 brand new for me) its at the top of its class. I would like to upgrade the buffer and spring but straight out of the box it shot wonderfully. Never failed to cycle. I put magpul pop up sights and at 100 yards I was low and left with my first group of three. I adjusted my sights and bullseyed my next three shots. After putting up a new target to see what it would due after over time I put 30 rounds into a spot the size of a silver dollar at 100 yards. This thing is a nail driver. It continued to shoot with the same results through 420 rounds.

I purchase my Omni AR 15 and I totally disagree with this review, I have not had one problem with mine, feels great shoots great has not jammed. I fired it dry and lightly lubed up and and there was no problem… IMO you can not go wrong with this product.

I bought my rifle already assembled having the 22cal barrel with the understanding I could put the .223 cal making it a real AR15 . Without doing anything to the gun I took it out to the field and shot 4mags at a small metal revolving target with good accuracy and not one issue. Several months later I purchased the .223 barrel at a gun show from a vendor that was referred to me from my dealer and friend. I went to the field to test it out and only got 3 shots off before it started jamming up, bullets being wedged and causing me too put it in its case with puzzlement. I was really disappointed especially since the first 3 shots performed & felt really good. I am hoping to resolve the problem soon .

Aluminum lower AR’s are too cheap right now to even consider a polymer lower. But, if you must consider one, I suggest a GWACS polymer lower. Those have been torture tested and seem to do what they are supposed to without issues.

Just bought this rifle from a gun show two days ago. Having the exact same problem’s right off the bat. Asked the guys at the range I went to for a quick diagnostic test. Found out I was running it dry and maybe the gas tank/pin? was a bit to long. I’ll lube it real good and try again. I was encouraged by the good reviews on it in this comment section. Hope it turns out alright.

I would have to say that I disagree with this article. I bought an ATI OMNI Hybrid MAXX and it has done nothing but please me. Rarely ever have problems with it. It saw 1000+ rounds in the first year I owned it and not a single thing is wrong with it structurally.

LOL this was a targeted hit on the company from another company. There isn’t anything wrong with the guns. If there were the lawyers would be all over them. A few bad apples in the batch of over 400k poly rifles is nothing. all gun mfgs have problems I have had 2 cracked alum rifles right out of the box. As a dealer i see more guns than 99.9% of all of you. There are always growing pains with new designs and we are past that now. poly guns are very good.Likely the gun was not cycling due to a gas issue and not a block of metal.

I’ve had my Omni Hybrid Pistol for a couple years now…aside from it coming with a bent mag latch , which Ati promptly sent me another, it has run 100% and not broken the lower as of yet…..but I’ve only got 6 to 700 rds through it…lol. I love it and have put my arm brace / kak tube on it…..

This needs revisited. Perhaps in 2014 they were crappy, but as far as I can tell this is a performer. Got the Omni Maxx LTD Edition and its great! 120 rounds fired, not 1 hiccup! Accurate as hell. Very nice rifle for the money!

Thats funny i have one and i like it right now out of the box I shot 200 rounds with no issues at all and have since fired it multiple times with no issues where the metal is molded into the receiver is clean looks like it was part of the mold I have no issues with my hybrid i’m thinking most of you guys hate plastic guns because you were told to and or you work for some other gun manufacturer if I bought my guns based on gun reviews I wouldn’t own any guns

I also purchased one of these hybrid AR’s 6 months ago. Sent down range about 2000 rounds. I have had no malfunctions. I haven’t thrown it around but I haven’t babied it either. I’m not sure I would it for a backstroke in a fight but it shoots straight is light and easy to break down and clean. I’m happy.

I’ve had this lower for 2 years… ran about 3-4k rounds through it and not one hiccup. It even eats steel case ammo flawlessly. Not even to mention the failures this guy is describing are not in any way the result of the lower… It’s a winner in my book. Groups are around 1.5 moa with a cheap 3×9 using 75 grain tula out of a 1:7 twist 416 stainless steel mid length 16 barrel from palmetto state armory. has a free float rail and mil spec trigger… lol

I purchased a ATI OMNI HYBRID took it to the ranger for the first time today. It shoots nice very smooth no hang ups. I ran one hundred and fifty rounds through it today.
I put a center point scope on it, not bad for a ATI AR 15.
It ran both brass and steel through it no problem.

I have the ATI Omni hybrid maxx in 300blk and have yet to have any issues. I only have about 500rds of Remington supersonic 120gr otm through it thus far but it has been flawless. Shoots about an inch at 100yds and will function just fine with 208gr sub sonic ammo also. This is not a “hard use” rifle. It’s a range/hunting rifle. I would buy another without hesitation.

If the 3.5 MOA was at 100 yards, I don’t consider that bad – I’ve done 2 inches, iron sights (I have no scope for my ARs) at 100 with my Del-tons a number of times, using a bench rest. But one thing you never seem to see in these reviews is expectant standards given the nature of the weapon, and this IS a battle rifle. Now, if one has a scope and STILL gets only 3.5 at 100, then, yeah: it’s not bad but COULD very well be better. But so many other things could be addressed -like the shooter, breathing, etc.- before the weapon is maligned. In short, for me, the reason NOT to buy it is right up front – in the description of the cutting-corners construction, and I’m just not ready for ANY lower receiver with ANY amount of plastic in it.

They’ve made some improvements since 2014 when the speed of production and not reliability or safety, nor function were at the top of the list, there wasn’t enough AR’s to fill the demand, so many companies did a rush job for the money and it showed. Now I’ve shot this not quite a year ago, and as an FFL I was just offered a great price on this model again, and I’m going to order a few for the lower end shooters who want to have fun, not the Tactical Police unit, users. I’m going to buy one for myself as well to shoot when the Sheriff Deputies in my family go to practice, I can at least keep up with their $2,000 dollar rifles, and still have a fun day. At $450 retail, I can comfortably add one more gun to my private collection without guilt, and I personally like the way it fires. No, it’s not a Ruger AR 556 or going to the high-end spectrum, not thousands, but it no longer deserves the old ratings still posted here. It’s now a decent Rifle that deserves a go.